Regional and local law enforcement officials recently visited Brooke High School to discuss drug abuse with teens, their parents and other community members in an effort to reduce the number of deaths from overdose.
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Ihlenfeld, and officers with the Wheeling Police Department and the Charleston office of federal Homeland Security Investigations, shared information and advice at two programs presented to students and a third held for the general public.
They noted data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 2021 showed West Virginia ranked highest in fatal drug overdoses, and while that number has dropped by 4 percent, they suspect that many fatal overdoses still go unreported.
While many of those deaths have been attributed to prescribed opioids, Ihlenfeld said the state is facing another crisis in the form of illegally sold fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
Students at Brooke High School were warned that drug dealers often recruit teens to do the dirty work of distributing the drugs, thus risking criminal charges that can affect their lives long term.
They were shown photos of outdoor labs in third world countries where drugs are mixed in large vats with tree limbs and filth and mold are common. The students were asked to consider whether they would eat food prepared in such a place and if not, why they would inject or consume a drug produced there.
Sgt. John McKenzie, one half of a K-9 unit with the Wheeling Police Department, noted harmful materials ranging from baby powder to lye are mixed into illegal drugs to give them more volume.
McKenzie introduced his partner Jericho, a Belgian Malinois trained to detect a number of narcotics even when vacuum sealed.
He cited an instance when Jericho found about half a kilogram of methamphetamines beneath coffee grounds and several layers of packaging.
Students learned drugs have been hidden in spools of thread, stuffed in teddy bears and packaged in wrappers resembling popular brands of candy.
The officers said parents of children who will be trick-or-treating should carefully inspect candy wrappers and even their contents, noting “candies” with markings similar to pills shouldn’t be eaten.
Ihlenfeld said most students don’t abuse drugs or approve of peers doing so but they can help to protect others by spreading information about their dangers.
He encouraged them to share the facts they have learned with their younger siblings and other family members.
The officers were asked prior to the program what parents can do to deter their children from illegal drug use.
Noting access to drugs has been made easier through the Internet, they encouraged parents to monitor regularly their activity on social media, noting there are apps available for that purpose, and be aware of the people with whom they have contact.
McKenzie also stressed the importance of maintaining a line of communication.
The programs were arranged by the Brooke County Family Support Center in observance of Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide drug abuse prevention campaign inspired by the death in 1985 of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.